Dance with the Devil
by moodie
Summary: In which trouble-attracting dancer Sakura Haruno (unsurprisingly) stumbles upon three wayward orphans and unexpectedly takes them under her wing. "So you don't know who I am?" "Should we?" Cue the exasperated sigh that she should really get used to. {dance!AU / Sakura-centric}
1. Sakura meets Unconventionality

_Dance with the Devil_

Summary: In which trouble-attracting dancer Sakura Haruno (unsurprisingly) stumbles upon three, wayward orphans and unexpectedly takes them under her wing. "So you _don't_ know who I am?" "Should we?" Cue the exasperated sigh that she should _really_ get used to. {dance!AU / Sakura-centric}

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters beside my own.

Warning: Crude language, possible suggestive innuendos

Inner Sakura - **SHANNARO!**

Sakura talking in her mind - 'SHANNARO!'

~ { **Sakura meets Unconventionality** } ~

Sakura decided she hated rain.

Partly because she was stuck under the unrelenting downpour of water bullets on the crumbling carpark of her dance studio, but also because the rainwater was going places it _should not be going_.

In hindsight, she really should've expected that her rather… flighty aunt, for lack of a better word, would 'forget' to pick up poor Sakura-chan once again after the seventh time in five days. The last few times, Izanami had been late - but this time, her aunt had actually _forgotten._ The forty-seven minutes she had waited under a downpour of rain didn't help the fact that she could have been sinking into a tub of warm water right this very moment.

As much as she hoped that Izanami would come rolling in, in her cherry red convertible and accompanied with her new flavour of the week in the passenger seat, she might pass being squished into the back seat (rainwater and all), where things _that shall not be named_ may or may not have occurred on the leather seats.

Yeah, the rain bullets were more pleasurable than having the fortune to listen to her aunt snuggling up to her new beau.

She really couldn't blame Izanami for _everything_. After her disastrous break up with her on-and-off boyfriend a couple months back who should've been 'the one', her alcoholic aunt had fallen back into her college days and spent the remainder of her young adult life surrounded with booze, parties, booze and more booze.

But the point was, when the authorities had dropped naive, scared little Sakura into her lap after her parents had passed in an accident, Izanami had been completely unprepared and inexperienced in how to handle a six year old. So instead of sending Sakura to a more experienced distant relative, Izanami determinedly held onto the only memory of her passed sister and chose to raise the pink haired child without knowing how to do _anything_ that associated with caring for a child.

Sakura grew up with an emotionally confused aunt that instead of showering her with love and care, spent her parent's inheritance on expensive gifts for herself and simply let Sakura choose whatever she liked. In result, Sakura had matured much faster than her peers, learning how to cook frozen meals and how to clean after herself and her usually drunk aunt.

But what she also learnt, was how to sneak money out of her aunt's purse to limit the amount of money she spent when she wandered out at night and how to make a hangover for her aunt when she woke up in a daze the next morning.

When Sakura decided to sign up for the dance studio closest to her house after exactly two years of nonstop routine, Izanami had immediately complied - she was abundantly glad to have the brat out of the house for a few hours each week.

The only favour Sakura had asked of her was that she pick her up after dance lessons, to which her aunt had reluctantly agreed to - but it seemed she more frequently 'forgot' to pick her darling niece up from the dance studio after her _tragic_ break up.

Although Sakura had sat Izanami down and told her that she should at least _try_ to pick her up on time, she knew that her aunt was only half-listening as she flickered to sleep not long after their conversation.

So, here she was, drenched and wet in a skin-tight leotard and a flimsy wrap skirt staring fiercely at the entrance of the car park. Her choice of attire had been strongly influenced by Izanami's advice of wearing something 'light', but she also supposed that it was a decision she chose to follow through with. Her aunt's usual ensemble consisted of a skin-tight, light attracting, party dress that allowed free movement, and considering Izanami's choice of venue, the atmosphere was most likely humid and sweaty.

Conveniently forgetting to bring her sweatshirt in the bathroom after helping Izanami mop herself up before she went to the studio was a mistake on her part, but that wouldn't stop her from dripping rainwater all over her aunt's precious Persian rugs when she got home.

She really should've expected Izanami to be late - again - after the first few times, honestly. "What a way to spend my Friday night," Sakura murmured bitterly, scuffing the toe of her lime green sneakers.

The storm that had drifted overhead that seemingly erupted out of nowhere had began to rumble with lightning, striking unrelentingly in the distance. Mopey and soaked, Sakura stared at her dead phone as she faintly recalled Ino-pig sucking away the remainder of her battery by taking a multitude of selfies of herself in ten kinds of filters.

With no communication to speak of and only a handful of change, she marched hopefully to the nearest bus stop. It had been a while since she had actually taken public transportation, as she usually walked or on the rare days that Izanami dragged her unwillingly to the mall.

She generally disliked taking public transport, because her last experience resulted in Ino-pig's not-so-playful taunting of becoming a 'commoner', so she, unwilling to listen to the blonde's jeers, she skipped taking the bus ever again. She really _would_ rather the warm, heated seats of her aunt's convertible, and the fact that her house conveniently happened to be on the other side of town didn't help her decision to take the bus.

But she had no choice but to do it, because Izanami was probably drinking her worries away at a club downtown, helpfully forgetting all her responsibilities - which included of picking up one Sakura Haruno.

As she walked, she immediately noticed that the streets that used to bustle with liveliness and color were deserted with little to no life to be seen. Konoha had recently been introduced to a wave of sleepiness that winter had brought and the flu spread like wildfire.

When she finally reached the flimsy structure of the neighbouring bus stop, she squinted at the time table in hope that she could at least get to a bus top in walking (read: sprinting through the rain) distance of her house.

Staring down at the handful of change she had scavenged at the bottom of the bag, her fists tightened in anger, ready to scream her throat hoarse at Izanami for making her suffer for as long as she did.

Well, maybe she should've realized sooner that her aunt would conveniently 'forget' to pick her up and taken Ino-pig's offer of driving her home. Unwilling to succumb to Ino's taunts of 'becoming a lonely, wet stray', she respectfully declined and chose to wait for someone who she naively thought was just 'late'. Thinking back on it now, she bitterly thought that she shouldn't have put as much trust in her aunt as she did.

After helplessly squinting through the rain she roughly made out that the next bus wouldn't come around until about forty minutes, she reluctantly decided to take the route by foot and prayed that she could get home safely.

About twenty metres out, she faintly heard distant footfalls and scattered mutterings somewhere behind her. She stiffened immediately, ready to clutch her pack for dear life and run for all she was worth through the rain.

Casually tightening her grip on her bag strap, she walked a little faster to ready herself to break out into a sprint. There was slight skip to her step as her stomach churned in a mixture of fear and adrenaline. Sakura risked a glance over her shoulder but only saw three shadowy figures hidden with the fog. Eyes widening at the sudden revelation that they outnumbered her, her stomach clenched tighter with terror.

 **Go get 'em!** Inner hollered, inspiring a flicker of irritation and exasperation as the voice of her inner personality spoke up for the first time in hours.

'Shush!' she hushed mentally, her eye twitching - but secretly, she was grateful for Inner. Something inside her steeled and her footsteps stopped their harried movement. Realizing what Inner was trying to achieve, she screeched inwardly, 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?'

"Who are you?" her voice was wobbly and cracked slightly at the end, but the strength in her voice stabilized as she talked. The movements on the gravelly road were become more distinct as the strangers walked closer. Sakura couldn't move from her position, her knuckles white on her bag strap as she tried to will herself to run, run as far away as possible from these (possible) muggers, but Inner had already taken control.

"Hey!" A pubescent voice called from behind her. A little part of her sagged in relief that at least _one_ of them was her age but the more rational part of her mind yelled, 'He could _still_ mug you!'

Willing herself to turn around, the previously shadowy figures become three, strange-looking boys her age. The one that had spoken was catching up to her still form rapidly, jogging faster than the two strolling boys behind him.

"Hey!" The boy stopped in front of her with a grin, sunshine-coloured hair dripping down over tan face.

"What do you want?" Her voice was frozen with fear as she stumbled back a little, holding her bag behind her pack. "I-I don't have money, okay? Only some change - but, but don't you _dare_ touch me."

The blonde looked confused, damp spikes of hair drooping to one side as he tilted his head. "Money? We don't want money! Wha-?"

"She means if we want to mug her, Dobe." the one on the right of the blonde with dark, spiked hair smoothly cut in. "Do you?" Sakura questioned hesitantly, ready to take off with one suspicious sign.

"Of course we don't want to, Ugly." the one of the left of the blonde' said with a serene smile and a tilt of his head.

"Excuse me?" Sakura felt her face grow hot, "Did you just call me _ugly?_ "

Mugger or not, this bitch was gonna get _slapped_. She, for the first time in what seemed like forever, wholeheartedly agreed with Inner's violent ways.

"Isn't that what one would call someone if they fit their name's description?"

A deadly, monstrous aura began to grow around her. The others suddenly began to creep away from the pink haired girl, but the one-who-shall-get-double-bitch-slapped stayed in place, his pale face twisting into a wider smile as he stared unflinchingly into Sakura's eyes that were alight with fire.

"So you _don't_ know who I am?" Sakura tilted her head, her damp mop of hair dripping down her shoulder as her personality turned the other way like a flick of a switch. She wasn't exactly going to _brag,_ but she _had_ won three consecutive wins for the Junior female dance solo at Nationals. Even in her soppy state, they should at least recognize her from the newspaper or wherever she advertised. "Should we?" Cue the exasperated sigh that she should _really_ get used to.

"Anyway," the blonde interrupted loudly, waving his arms around as he tried to catch Sakura's attention - not that he needed the help - and tried to distract her before her killing intent filled the atmosphere again.

"What we're looking for is for my pet fox, Kurama!" the blonde said dramatically as if he had spoken a name of a god. His whiskered cheeks widened as an eager smile grew over his tan face, "So? Have you seen him?" Sakura rose an incredulous eyebrow, ignoring Inner's chanting of beating the smart-mouthed pale boy up.

Continuing his rambling even at Sakura's half-hearted attempts of interrupting, the blonde spoke with extravagant gestures, "...you really can't miss him! He's about, like, this big and is firetruck red and he's even stronger than me but don't tell him I said that and…"

"I haven't seen a fox anywhere." Sakura said tiredly, adjusting her bag and ran a hand through her damp, pink locks. The blonde looked slightly put out, but then he brightened once again.

Before he could continue his nonsensical ramblings, Sakura said, "Look, if I see a firetruck red fox, I'll holler, okay?"

Sakura had no intention whatsoever to communicate with such a _vibrant_ human being ever again, but she needed to appease the boy before he could pull her in with his chattering. The rain had _finally_ began to stop and she needed to-

The puppy dog look he just pulled transformed Sakura's dismissal into an irresistible urge to pat his wet blonde head. As soon as Sakura tried to tear her eyes off of his heart-meltingly adorable face, his face contorted into a sneeze.

She suddenly realized he was _sick_. _All_ of them were sick. The raven haired boy's cheeks were dark and hollow, and the one-who-perhaps-shouldn't-get-double-bitch-slapped's face was so pale that he was whiter than Sakura's extremely light complexion.

But the blonde was the worst - he was shivering, from eagerness she had earlier assumed, from the cold and he had given his coat to the boy who had so easily angered her. His fingertips were growing an icy blue and he looked even colder than she did with only a leotard on.

"You're sick?" she reaffirmed. The blonde immediately stiffened and shook his head, putting on an artificially excited expression, "Nah! Come on, what kind of loser would…"

Sakura shot him a stern look, putting her freezing hands on her hips determinedly. "Yeah, okay," he said, looking a lot more tired than he did before, "We're sick."

The same motherly feelings she had felt when she had taken in the shivering, sick rabbit she had found when she was walking home from school one day had blossomed once again as she surveyed the state the three boys (orphans?) had been put in, which evidently was the result of Konoha's harsh winter conditions.

"Come now," she said primly. ' _What am I doing?'_ she wondered inwardly as she herded them closer to follow her. **Even** _ **I**_ **don't know** , Inner's voice echoed as the trio stuttered closer to her. ' _What would Izanami think?'_ now there was a thought that actually mattered. **She would probably give us a suggestive wink and say 'go get 'em** '.

Sakura somehow agreed with Inner a second time as she lifted Naruto's chin, inspecting how bad his fever was. "You guys are coming with me." she decided abruptly, because dammit, _she wouldn't leave three sick boys out in_ _the streets like this._

It didn't matter at this very moment in time if they were secretly muggers, or if they were apart of a gang, or some nonsense like that - they were three sick boys and she would _not_ leave them here to die because of the bloody flu. "Wha-?" The blonde sputtered as she gestured for them to follow her. Even the two dark haired boys beside him blinked in confusion. "You guys are coming with me." she said slower this time, wondering if they were illiterate.

"We got it," the boy who stood to the blonde's right confirmed dryly, "But what do you mean ' _coming with me?'_ " The three wondered if this was a trick; perhaps a game so once she got them to actually think that they were cared for, she would suddenly be gone without a trace - it's not like it hadn't happened before.

"You're staying at my house," Sakura said, hoping that this time they would actually fully comprehend what she said. She nodded, as if reassuring herself and said in a softer tone, "I'll take care of you guys, okay?"

They was purely vulnerability shining in their dimmed eyes - anguish, hope but mostly fear.

"I can run a hot bath," she baited, and her heart wilted as their eyes brightened with the aforementioned 'luxury'. Seriously, these boys were taking her heart and ripping it into tiny pieces.

Like eager puppies, they trailed after her as she slowly rounded a street into downtown. She had purposefully skipped the route that went past the bar that Izanami usually frequented as she knew her way around downtown long enough to get herself and the trio of boys safely into the more friendly parts of Konoha.

With three soaked boys in tow, she instructed them what way to turn or if someone was coming in hushed whispers, just in case anyone would hear. Travelling through the shadows for them was easy, she observed, as they slid into the shadows of an alley between two townhouses, blending effortlessly into the darkness to hide from a passing car.

The rain was slowly dying down into a light sprinkle, Sakura noticed, relieved. **Our uniform can't get any wetter** , Inner said dryly.

As much as the blonde wanted to burst out in hollers and shouts, the two boys beside him kept him in place with deathly glares and soft spoken insults. Their compatibility reminded her fondly of brothers, but then she stopped cold as a memory of two pink haired siblings, loud and full of brightness, flickered to life in her mind. Morosely trudging down the path that rounded of to her neighborhood, Sakura tried not to even glance at them in fear of bringing up tucked-away memories, hidden from prying eyes.

"Why are we going this way?" the blonde, whose name she learns to be Naruto, whispers loudly when they reach the back gate of her house's incredibly cliché white picket fence. "Hush, Dobe." Sasuke, who she learns to be the less irritable one out of the three, tries to silence the rambunctious boy, who responds indignantly.

Sakura glances at them when she knows that she won't burst into tears, and instead finds laughter bubbling up from her throat as Sai insults both of them with a real, genuine smile on his face to try and alleviate the situation. His attempts are purposefully in vain, she noticed.

Climbing up and over the fence was something Sakura had expertly mastered over the last few years when she had to sneak out in the morning, if she didn't want to wake up a particularly emotional Izanami.

"Easy enough?" she asked, making sure to keep her voice low as to not alert any neighbours, from the other side of the fence. There was a scuffle in response, but the next thing Sakura knew, Naruto had been vaulted over the fence hollering, "TEME!"

"You next, Traitor?" Sai's voice rang cheerily and then he also was thrown over the fence. He landed in a roll, splattering muddy water all over Naruto, who previously had been laughing raucously at his expense, responded in kind in retaliation.

Sasuke boosting himself over with the same technique she had used, landed gracefully on the wet grass, once again splattering water all over Naruto's mud stained face. Naruto sputtered indignantly as Sasuke allowed a small smirk to appear over his usually impassive features, and Sai joined in with quietly amused laughter.

Sakura was already at the back door, smiling wistfully at the familiar dynamic of the three boys. "Hey," she called with artificial cheer, unlocking the door with her spare key, "Who wants a warm bath?" All the boys scrambled into the empty house, drenching muddy water all over her aunt's precious Persian rugs.

Sakura threw her head back and laughed, a strangely melodic sound, as she imagined Izanami's expression as she found out what kind of state they had left her rugs in.

All of them looked back at Sakura, whose laughter they found themselves enjoying, and really looked at her. She looked out of place compared to the intricate furniture and abstract paintings, with damp, pink locks that shone in the setting sun's rays and green eyes that sparkled with life.

"C'mon," she said, amused, as they simultaneously looked in different directions, their cheeks dusted pink, "Let's go get cleaned up."

 _~ {_ **1** _} ~_


	2. Sakura meets Chaos

_Dance with the Devil_

Summary: In which trouble-attracting dancer Sakura Haruno (unsurprisingly) stumbles upon three, wayward orphans and unexpectedly takes them under her wing. "So you _don't_ know who I am?" "Should we?" Cue the exasperated sigh that she should _really_ get used to. {dance!AU / Sakura-centric}

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters beside my own.

Warning: Crude language, possible suggestive innuendos

Inner Sakura - **SHANNARO!**

Sakura talking in her mind - 'SHANNARO!'

~ { **Sakura meets Chaos** } ~

Sakura honestly should've considered the fact that _three pubescent boys_ were in responsibility before she decided to just go with her less rational part of her mind.

This thought suddenly occurred to her as she stood in front of the trio of exasperatingly clumsy boys, who she discovered, often left chaos in their wake. Neatly stacking the towels onto the marble bathroom countertop, she said with a smile, "Break anything and I will _break_ you."

Trying to hide three, boisterous boys without them breaking, let alone _touching,_ anything would be a task that seemed impossible in hindsight - but if she could settle a class of whiny five year olds into performing pristine pirouettes, then perhaps she could saddle three whiny twelve year olds into thoroughly bathing themselves independently.

Yeah, haha, not happening.

Each boy paled considerably as Sakura continued sweetly, "The bath shall be filling up soon enough, so I trust that you won't cause as much of a dirty mess as I think you boys will." They nodded very seriously at the stern glint in Sakura's eyes. "Make sure to scrub thoroughly, wash any grime out of your hair, hands or - well, pretty much everywhere, don't be _too_ loud and behave yourselves, okay?" Sakura took a deep breath to calm herself. They could handle themselves, surely? She tiredly scooped up her own towel and threw them a worn-out grin, "Just holler if you need anything."

As soon as she slipped out of the bathroom, she heard a scuffle then hushed, angry whispers breaking out, as if she couldn't hear them. Sighing exasperatedly, she headed up to Izanami's private bathroom; where her usually laid-back aunt 'strictly forbid' Sakura and any of the maids from going anywhere near there. Sakura normally kept to Izanami's few rules and was appropriately obedient, but right now, she was drenched in rainwater and she honestly couldn't give any type of shit.

She marched up resolutely, but as soon as she nudged the door, she almost regretted her decision. Wrinkling her nose as she passed wayward lingerie and pink underthings, she tiptoed past her aunt's sloppily made bed - surprised that she even bothered to _make_ her bed - and made her way over to the elusive 'bathroom' that Sakura had never had the fortune of visiting. Upon arrival, Sakura was actually _glad_ she never had to set her eyes upon the so-called 'bathroom' Izanami had taken her many 'boyfriends' up to. There was a littering of tabloids, a scattering of wax strips and spilt nail varnish, carelessly tossed lingerie, a variety of both male and female electric shavers, various hair treatments and oils and a sea of chords that led up to a multitude of hair dryers, flat-irons and curling irons.

She knew that Izanami rarely cleaned up after herself, as she usually left that up to either Sakura or the maid, but she not even allowed the _maid_ to clean up after her - so, she supposed this kind of… disarrayed mess was to be expected. Sighing tiredly, Sakura got to work as she cleaned out the shower, made enough room for a path to the door and finally got to be rid of her soaked uniform. Without bothering with the endless collection of shampoos and conditioners Izanami had so helpfully supplied, Sakura rinsed out the residue of rainwater under the warm water with a blissful grin.

She hummed blissfully under the warm water - she _finally_ got a break from the rather disastrous that occurred in the past hour or so. As she got ready to step out of the shower, a sudden assault of cold water shot down her back. A high-pitched shriek echoed in the large bathroom as Sakura hurried to get the hell out of the shower. Hopping out with a screech, she wildly grabbed for her towel, shivering.

 **Those boys really got you there** , Inner commented snidely, cackling at her expense.

She pulled her pajamas on, her eyes furrowing in worry as she imagined the boys flooding the bath with hot water, surrounding themselves in a watery mess. 'What are they _doing_ down there?' Sakura thought anxiously, the blissful ambiance ebbing away. Determinedly steering herself in the right direction, she suppressed a shiver as her bare feet made contact with the frigid hardwood floors. She banged her fist on the locked door to the bathroom, hollering, "What happened to all the hot water, idiots?!"

The icy coldness of the shower water fresh on her mind, she banged harder. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted with a grin. He was shirtless, with only the towel she had provided them hanging loosely around his his waist, and she tried to suppress the blush that had blossomed on her cheeks. "N-Naruto!" she chided, forcing herself to look up at the blonde's grinning face. "What do you boys do with all the hot water?" He wasn't shivering anymore, which she supposed was a good thing, but she hoped he would at least put on the shirt she had given him.

Naruto's tanned face screwed up in indignation as he protested loudly, "It was all that bastard's fault! Teme demanded to go first, so we uh, kind of… pushed him in." A sheepish look grew over his face, "Then water, uh, spilt everywhere and there was this huge splash! Then there was only a bit of water, so we had to, like, fill in some more, but then Sai wanted to bathe next, then Teme was all possessive and demanded to properly bathe and then they both fell in and I didn't want to be left out, so I uh, jumped in as well and then there was this _bigger_ splash and then we had to fill in _even more_ water, and then it kinda… ran out."

By the time Naruto had finished his rant, Sakura's cheeks were flushed with anger. She nudged the door wider to find water splashed all over the pristine tiles and the rug she carefully had laid out for them. Sai and Sasuke were occupied stuck in an intense argument that consisted of Sai's soft-spoken insults and Sasuke's scathing retorts, both struggling to pull on their oversized clothes.

Naruto couldn't help but try to appease Sakura. Stumbling in after her, he spun excuses and apologies with an embarrassed grin on his. She had, after all, took them into her home with little to no knowledge of who _any_ of them were. They couldn't help but respect both her kindness and her young naivety that they found themselves losing early in their life. They all unknowingly found themselves developing a crush on the petite girl, monstrous anger and all.

Sighing exasperatedly, she pinched the bridge of her nose and said, " _Honestly_ , you three." They continued to surprise her with the utter incredulity of the situation.

"Wait in the kitchen," she dismissed them with a shoo, shoving their change of clothes into Sai's arms. She intended to find some peace and quiet as she busied herself cleaning this unfortunately expected mess up. They filed out, whispering angry mutterings at each other under their breaths and nudging each other in the ribs. After shoving their damp, strange-smelling clothes in the laundry hamper, mopping up the watery mess on the floor, draining the murky water inside the tub and tidying up whatever mess was left, Sakura felt oddly accomplished as she rinsed the grime off her hands.

Wandering out to the kitchen, what she _did not_ in fact expect to find was Naruto stirring what looked to be some kind of exotic stir fry at the stove, Sai setting out the dining table somewhat appropriately whilst Sasuke held polite conversation with her quite intoxicated, scantily dressed aunt as she slurred in a drunken haze at the raven haired boy.

The abandoned trio of boys she had found were full of unexpected surprises, weren't they?

"Wha-what _happened?_ " Sakura sputtered in shock whilst Naruto hid a sly grin as he continued to stir whatever was in that pan, with only Sai flashing her a small smile and Sasuke acknowledging her with a nod. "These _gentlemen_ are just cooking up some dinner, sweetheart," Izanami grinned, a slur to her words as she swung the stilettos in her hand about.

"How-how are you - what are you even… _how long was I in there?_ " Sakura demanded, her fists tightening until they were white. Naruto only shrugged as he added some kind of salt into the pan, "Only about half an hour, Sakura-chan!"

"Half an hour." she repeated, trying to comprehend the fact that Sasuke was _actually_ listening to the spew Izanami was saying and that Naruto could _actually_ cook. Sai's knowledge of where to set the salad fork didn't help. Other than the incredulity that was ensuing, Sakura idly wondered where Inner was.

 **I have no words** , Inner abruptly announced and for once, Sakura wished that her inner personality would _offer_ her opinion on this situation.

But Sakura could wholeheartedly agree that there _no words_ to fully express this situation.

Pulling on her calmest façade, she ventured coolly, "When did Izanami arrive?" "Ah!" Naruto said brightly, waving a wooden spoon about, "She arrived only ten minutes ago!" Upon revelation of what he was actually doing, he sheepishly scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. "Ah, I hope you don't mind me using your food, Sakura-chan! It's just that there was so much ingredients that I…" Instead of choosing to listen to Naruto's nonsensical cooking ramblings, she simply took a seat at the kitchen island and made an an attempt to cool off. She squeezed her eyes, trying to _not_ from storming out of the kitchen in a fit of frustration.

"So," she began, breathing in and out deeply, "When will dinner be served?" Naruto grinned as he attended to another dish and responded with an enthusiastic, "Soon!"

She slipped off the polished marble island and led out a protesting Izanami to her room to get her ready for bed. "Sakura-chaaaaan! Don't be such a gooody twoooo shoooes! Let your Izanami-obaaaa-san have some fuuun!" her aunt whined sleepily, leaning all her weight onto her niece. Sakura struggled up the stairs, wrestling with the urge to just drop Izanami on the spot.

Her right eye twitched as the sudden dip of weight on her shoulder - Izanami had passed out in a dead sleep as soon as Sakura pushed the door open. "You are _so_ lucky to have me, Izanami." she muttered and helped her aunt out of her cocktail dress and into more appropriate attire.

When Sakura finally made it down the stairs, the three greeted her with warm dish of food as light hearted banter filled the atmosphere. She covered her mouth as she yawned tiredly, slipping into her seat at the dining table and flashed them a grateful smile.

The three boys she had met at the deserted street in the pouring rain looked very different to the trio was all dressed in warm, weather-appropriate clothes and clean faces. Sakura felt incredibly tired after a day of training, trudging through a downpour of rain and then cleaning up after three pubescent boys; so she was glad when she could finally rest.

"Itadakimasu," she murmured as her eyelids drooped and she landed in a dead faint right on the dining table.

* * *

Sakura-chan!" Naruto's harried voice was the first thing her senses were greeted to as she made it back to consciousness.

"Naruto?" she slurred blurrily, her voice still thick with sleep, "Wha-what happened?"

Sai toned in pleasantly, "You fell face first into the table because you so tired, Ugly." For once, Sakura could be slightly grateful for Sai's blunt remarks, but that didn't stop her from swatting his arm.

She was tucked in her bed, her hair in a mass of pink fluff and an embarrassing dribble of dried drool on her chin. The three surrounded her bed, tucked in various positions around her - Naruto was bouncing eagerly on the vacant space on her right, Sai sat with a smile on her left, looking marginally less pale now that he was surrounded with warmth and stuffed with nutritious (or what she hoped to be healthy) food whilst Sasuke leaned against the wooden column of her four poster bed, nodding to acknowledge her.

The three boys all had differentiating quirks and personalities, not one similar to the other, but they all somehow fit together like a complete jigsaw puzzle. They weren't brothers per say, but they might as well be - brothers in all but blood, as they say. The trio had yet to open up to her as to why they were wandering _children_ in the usually friendly town of Konoha and why had they been so sick, but she should patiently wait.

Brought to the topic once again, she straightened up in her bed to observe the three to check how healthy there were. Compared to the state she found them in, Sakura deduced that they were much healthier, but deemed that perhaps a day of rest would do them good.

"We made breakfast for you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned, explaining the western meal the trio had made 'together' in thorough detail - eggs, bacon and grilled tomatoes certainly sounded appetizing to her right that moment.

She climbed out of bed to join the boys down for breakfast. When she passed Izanami's room, she took a peek into the dimmed room. Her aunt was still knocked out, but at least she was sleeping peacefully and not spewing out her guts out into the toilet. In remembrance of the rather… _projectile_ memory, she shivered in disgust and she shut the door close as to not wake her aunt. Even when Izanami had to puke, she ran to the toilet outside instead of simply vomiting in her own personal toilet. The woman would forever remain an enigma to Sakura.

As she slipped into her seat at the dining table once again, she idly wondered why the trio of boys were more… _civilized_ , for lack of better word, than the street rats that hid in the depths of downtown. Instead of ravishing every meal that was offered to them, they ate at a measured pace (well, perhaps not Naruto) like an average human being. The meal that was spread out to her looked delightfully balanced, with both greasy meat and an even amount of greens. It was packed to the brim with sausages, eggs, toast and whatever was left in the cabinets from their grocer.

Izanami more often than not forgot to do simple household chores, from buying groceries to washing her clothes, so she spent a hefty amount of her inheritance paying for grocers, maids, gardeners and such. Sakura had grown used to seeing Kaori-sempai packing ingredients into the pantry and Mariko-obaa-san bustle around the house carrying laundry hampers to and fro.

Izanami had decided to pay for people to do her work for her as soon as Sakura began to go to dance lessons, and was consequently not there to do everyday household chores and cook dinner.

It was unusual to find a _male_ to cook her meals, because although Izanami was a… man-eater, for lack of better word, she prefered the precise work of females over the company of men around her house - so finding Naruto carrying in platters of food onto the table was highly strange, but oddly empowering.

"Itadakimasu," they said in unison, appreciatively digging into their meal. Sakura was unexpectedly impressed - she had only eaten such high quality food from males when Izanami dragged her to a 'high-class' restaurant when her aunt's birthday rolled around. Not to be sexist, she chided herself, but it was true when the last time she had eaten food from a guy, Lee-kun had made the curry _way_ too spicy for it to be edible. Not exactly a pleasurable experience, per say.

"It's delicious," she praised, dimpling a smile at them as she finished off her meal. The trio of boys felt their cheeks redden at Sakura's praise. "As to be expected of us," Sai said with a somewhat genuine smile as Sasuke nodded in agreement. Naruto's response was much more boisterous, "I _knew_ you would love it, Sakura-chan!" Naruto claimed, grinning widely.

"Anything cooked from the heart is worthy of praise," she murmured, eyes fixated on something in the distance. A sense of déjà vu flashed in her mind, a passing image of a smiling blonde haired woman whispering familiar words, before it extinguished like a gust of wind. Sakura blinked back into reality and delicately laid her cutlery next to her plate.

"Thank you for the meal," Sakura smiled, excusing herself to prepare her aunt's favoured peppermint tea and whatever breakfast she could salvage. While she busied herself, the boys began to pack the plates and such into the dishwasher.

With a plate of bacon and some grilled tomatoes along with a cup of steaming peppermint tea, Sakura nudged her aunt's door open slowly to place her breakfast down on her bedside table. Usually their cook (who had called in sick the week previous and had yet to return) and Sakura would prepare breakfast and tea for Izanami, then a maid would bring it up to her aunt when she left for school. But recently, Izanami would appear at ungodly times in the morning, so Sakura rarely bothered to make her breakfast.

Sakura suspected that there was her aunt was still emotionally unstable and considered sending her for therapy - she seriously found her aunt bawling at odd hours in the morning about a man with a name that began with a 'k'. Sakura would never begin to try and comprehend her aunt. Setting her breakfast down on the bedside table, Izanami look unusually blissful muttering under her breath in her sleep, because Sakura found that her face was always contorted in some kind of expression when she awake.

Tiptoeing out, she barely made it to the last step of the stairs before Naruto hollered from inside the kitchen, "What's the verdict for the day, Sakura-chan?" That boy had epic hearing skills.

"Clothes." she said very seriously, appearing in the entrance of the question, "Because, frankly, you three look like little boys playing dress up."

It was the honest truth; they were outfitted in decidedly warm but oversized jumpers and pants that were folded to their ankles, which seemed interestingly adorable to Sakura when she looked at them in more detail. Sai looked at Sasuke, who looked down at his own embarrassingly oversized sweatshirt and asked Naruto, "Clothes?" Naruto, in turn, tried not to burst into laughter as he observed Sai's tightly buckled pants (to keep them from falling) and promptly agreed.

"Clothes." they consented in unison.

* * *

Sasuke and Sai simultaneously refused to go out in public wearing clothing ten times bigger than an appropriate size - claiming it to be too 'impractical' (but Sakura noticed that Sasuke was a little more than 'a bit' vain).

Naruto was forced to stay at the house as well, even though he loudly protested that he should accompany Sakura, she firmly put her foot down. Though Sakura honestly wouldn't mind his company, she didn't need people asking unnecessary questions. Another reason that boys dearly hoped Sakura would forget was the fact that they were still (even a little bit) sick. She forced them into bed rest in order for them to revitalize their energy and ordered Kaori-sempai, whom arrived soon after breakfast, to make sure they participate in anything strenuous. Kaori fondly ruffled Sakura's pink head and advised her that the boys would get too used to her 'mothering' soon enough. In response, Sakura promptly swatted her arm.

After a few minutes of what seemed like an interrogation, Sakura had been swiftly informed of all of their sizes. Sakura was accompanied with their maid, Mariko-obaa-san, to the mall and was equipped with her aunt's bank card and a list of preferred clothing and footwear.

After two hours of dodging Ino-pig and any and all of her classmates before she could be caught in _boys'_ clothing stores, Sakura and Mariko finally achieved their goal of buying appropriate clothes for the three boys. Mariko, whom was the elderly mother of _five_ boys had been a great decision maker in practical choices of clothing, but she was particularly old-fashioned in terms of _fashionable_ clothes. After what felt like hours to Sakura, she would honestly confess that she had never been more confused in her _life_.

When she arrived home, she promptly shoved all of the shopping bags into the three, bored-out-of-their-minds boys before they could welcome her back. Nodding in acceptance after a brief but thorough survey of their new wardrobe, the trio promptly changed into more suitable attire. Whilst bouncing around in his more suitable outfit, Naruto immediately asked Sakura - on behalf of the others as well, of course - to _get out_ of the house.

"Bored out of your mind?" Sakura snickered at their expense. With a hearty lunch and hours spent lounging around, their fever had lowered considerably. The hollowness in Sasuke's face wasn't as apparent as they were before, Sai's face had grown a more healthier shade of tone and Naruto was packed into warm layers - the blonde seemed to have re-energized the quickest.

"Where do you want to go?" she asked curiously. Here, they drew a blank; "Uh… any suggestions, Sakura-chan?" Naruto laughed weakly. "Aren't you looking for your pet cat? What was it? A fox?" Sakura frowned in thought. A beat later, the trio of boys burst out in unison, "Kurama!" Sakura's eyes brightened, "Yeah, that was his name. Wanna go looking for him?" Sai responded with a close-eyed smile, "Why do you think we responded so heartily, Ugly? Did Naruto's presence cause a few of your brain cells to dissipate?" Sakura smiled sweetly and simply smacked an unforgiving hand up his head in response. Naruto, whom seemingly didn't hear Sai's absentminded remark whatsoever, was ineffectively trying to take a selfie with Sasuke using Sakura' stolen phone.

"So the hunt for Kurama. Wanna start at the park?" Sakura questioned, racking her brain for a place a where a freaking _fox_ would hide. Naruto nodded eagerly and grinned in anticipation.

* * *

They decided to travel by foot to the park near the elementary school. They hadn't passed anyone Sakura knew yet, much to her relief, much she couldn't help but keep a close eye out. The park was very populous, so she wouldn't exactly surprised if she spotted anyone she knew there.

Upon their arrival, Sakura immediately recognized Tenten, an older, talented street performer that often frequented the park, and who was also a childhood friend of Lee. She remembered a scuffle involving a 'worried' citizen that had concerns about the girl's licence - it had ended in a nasty fine which consequently led to Tenten helping out at Sakura's dance studio to make up for the fine.

She noticed another a dancer from her studio, Ami, who was particularly nasty to anyone that wasn't her, making her way to Ten Ten. In concern, she gestured the boys to follow her as she made her way closer to where the brunette was performing. Sakura respected Tenten for both her dancing ability but also her diligence - she was a well-respected and for Ami to try a smack talk her would ward off any potential watchers. Ami was a naturally talented dancer that specialized in ballet and dabbled in contemporary - the complete opposite to both Tenten's style and dance. The brunette was extremely excelled in hip hop and had a more edgy, loose style, compared to Ami's graceful, textbook technique.

At least Ami had the decency to wait for Tenten's dance to finish, Sakura noticed wryly, as she stepped up to sneer at her. "Do you _try_ to dance like a gorilla? I mean, you could've _easily_ been mistaken for a guy." Ami flipped her glossy purple hair over shoulder as a wave of whispers rippled over the crowd. Tenten immediately stiffened, noticing a little girl flinch and turn away from dropping some money into her hat.

Although there was an undertone of masculinity in Tenten's style of dance, her movements were mostly feminine even to the strong beat of the song - Ami had no place whatsoever to comment on Tenten's style. "At least I don't _look_ like one, Mitarashi." Tenten said coldly, firmly crossing her arms to meet Ami's glinting gaze.

Ami was petty for a twelve year old - aiming to try and hurt a girl much more skilled and experienced than her was just pathetically screaming jealousy. The purple haired girl's entourage gasped in affront and Ami's mouth twisted in anger. "Are girls usually this petty?" Naruto whispered to Sakura, watching the two swap insults with wide eyes. Sakura saw the question in both Sai and Sasuke's expressions, as well and she rolled her eyes in exasperation. "No," she confirmed, her green eyes carefully observing the tense exchange, "It's just Ami."

They swapped a few more snide remarks before Tenten absentmindedly commented on Ami's talent connected to her pathetic verbal skills. A low blow on Tenten's part but she handled the consequences of a fuming pubescent girl rather well.

"I challenge you to a battle on neutral grounds." Ami's unwavering voice washed over the suddenly hushed crowd like a sea of cold fury. There was an instantaneous response to Ami's demand and the whispers became louder. There had been many results to a challenge like that - some resulting in a grudging respect for the victor but some more than others resulted in public humiliation for the defeated. Since both girls mainly only concentrated on one genre of dance, the variety of genres was widespread.

"Fine," Tenten's voice was strained - humiliation like this could run her reputation through the mud, but her voice was strong throughout, "Choose your judge." Ami's childish laughter filled the park, "Oh, really? You would give me the honour?" Highly amused, her cold, brown eyes surveyed the crowd. Finally, her eyes drilled into a single person. Sai. "You." her voice was soft but with a steely undertone to it.

I nearly burst out into laughter - Sai would find no amusement in watching pubescent girls battle a reputation war, but his dancing eyes told her otherwise. Judging from Tenten's performance earlier and Ami's choice of attire, he knew exactly what genres they specialized in. "Modern. I choose modern." A Cheshire cat grin grew over Ami's face - Sakura knew exactly what she was thinking; that ballet, known to be fluid and graceful would be fundamental in a genre of dance like modern - but what she didn't know was that Tenten's style of dance held more fluidity in it than Ami's did.

With a knowing grin on her face, Sakura watched on knowing exactly what the outcome would be.

* * *

By the time they flipped a coin to decide who dance first, Sakura had settled down, along with the boys and many others, to watch the ensuing battle.

One could say that the two girls were equals in terms of ability, but another who knew the girls' styles more in depth would disagree.

Ami would be going first it seemed. Allowing a confident smile to grace her lips, Ami sashayed to the middle of the area. The song burst from Tenten's music play and lit the atmosphere like a candle in the dead of the night. Ami's dance style had adjusted to more flexible movements, allowing Ami to spin and twirl freely but the strong, disciplined mark that ballet gave all its students was evident in Ami's seemingly fluid dance. The controlled turns and rhythmic leaps were plainly apparent, but her motions become looser as the song spurred on. Before Ami could truly take the form of her own customized version of modern dancing, the song ended and the crowded burst into applause. With an arrogant smirk, Ami purposefully nudged Tenten's shoulder as she marched past.

With a sudden intake of breath, Sakura hid a smile as Tenten's entire movement changed entirely when the song began. Her technique had lost the undercurrent of strong masculinity and strongly resembled the the spring breeze or fluid waves of water. Ami scowled, immediately seeing the crowd's awed 'ooh's and 'ah's as Tenten's ballot of victory. The song dwindled down into silence and there was a moment of silence before the marginally bigger crowd burst into raucous applause.

Sakura had never seen Sai scrutinize someone, or _anything_ for that matter, with such intensity. His dark eyes followed every moment of both Ami and Tenten, surveying the crowd's reactions after each of the performances. **Perhaps Sai has some dancing experience?** Inner mused as Sakura glanced at the boy in the corner of her eye curiously.

After the chatter died down of Tenten's applause tapered into silence, Sai smiled with a tilt of his head and announced, "The winner is Tenten."

Sakura immediately jogged up to congratulate her friend along with the multitude of applauding onlookers. Money piled into Tenten's small looking hat until it couldn't hold anymore coins and notes. She locked the older brunette into a tight embrace with a hearty 'congratulations'.

Tenten whispered slyly to her kohai, "Those boys sure are cute, aren't they, Sa-ku-ra-chan?" and Sakura turned beet red in response. Tenten bubbled with laughter as Sakura swatted her sempai repeatedly, all the while hollering indignantly.

When Sakura joined the boys for the search of the elusive Kurama, Naruto asked curiously, "Ne, why're your cheeks so red, Sakura-chan? Are you tired?" The blonde's forehead creased in worry, and Sai and Sasuke looked on, concerned. "Nothing." Sakura said, slightly flustered, and held her palms to her cheeks in an attempt to cool them. "Let's just go look for your fox," Glancing back at Tenten was a mistake it seemed, because over the sea of people, the brunette winked at her mischievously and Sakura's cheeks reddened even more. Before the boys could fuss over her, she just marched forward and called, "C'mon, let's go!"

* * *

 _Author's Note:_ I am by no means an expert in the art of dance, but I have dabbled in the lingu and such. On another note, I decided to make Naruto a bit taller in this, just for my sake. This _is_ an AU, so minor changes will be made, in fair warning. I am by no means saying that battles like this occur in real life, but I found the opportunity much too tempting - it also allowed some insight to Sakura's inner workings of her brain. This was more of a filler chapter, so character development and relationship building is fundamental in this part. Also, I know there are alternative way to spell 'sempai' but I know the rough meaning is elder.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter ;3

Review is love~


	3. Sakura meets Loss

_Dance with the Devil_

Summary: In which trouble-attracting dancer Sakura Haruno (unsurprisingly) stumbles upon three, wayward orphans and unexpectedly takes them under her wing. "So you _don't_ know who I am?" "Should we?" Cue the exasperated sigh that she should _really_ get used to. {dance!AU / Sakura-centric}

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters beside my own and I don't own the 'Tower of Terror', the 'Goliath' or Netflix and any of the movies mentioned.

Warning: Crude language, possible suggestive innuendos

Inner Sakura - **SHANNARO!**

Sakura talking in her mind - 'SHANNARO!'

~ { **Sakura meets Loss** } ~

After a whole of two weeks, Sakura was sat down by both Mariko-obaa-san and Izanami. Her aunt was somehow not outfitted in party wear and was instead wearing a faded winter-y dress that looked two sizes too big on her. Considering Izanami was relatively sober and not hungover for this encounter, Sakura immediately assumed that whatever they were about to tell her was pretty important.

"Sakura-chan," Mariko-obaa-san gently began, "You understand that the boys can't stay forever, right?" Sakura instantly stiffened, knowing what they were trying to break down for her. "As much as you _do_ love them, sweetheart," Izanami continued, smirking a little when she saw Sakura's eye twitch a little, "The authorities will come looking for them sooner or later." After two weeks of Sakura mothering and caring for the trio of abandoned boys, it was obvious that her niece had grown immensely fond of them.

"Can't-can't we adopt them?" Sakura said a tad desperately - spending the last few weeks with those boys had been as much fun as the week she had been at America for the International dancing competition.

Her aunt's twisted her lips into a contemplating purse. "Formally adopting them with my track record?" Izanami said dryly a few moments later and barked out a laugh. As much as she wanted to appease Sakura and make her happy, she doubted that the social services would allow four pubescent children after her many… dangerous night escapades.

Sakura could understand that - she been young, but she could still remembered Izanami stumbling in drunkenly into the house with a police officer more than once. Izanami's usually hard blue eyes softened as she observed Sakura's resolve. "As much as you _do_ love them, darling," she said again with a little more seriousness and a little more care, "Sometimes you need to let the things you love go." Izanami's voice cracked a little at the end, and Sakura knew that bad memories had been brought up.

Though Izanami would gladly take in the boys for Sakura's sake, hiding from the authorities was something she didn't want to participate in. "But what will happen to them?" she asked in a small voice. Mariko-obaa-san offered the pink haired girl a sad little smile, "They'll most likely be separated into different foster homes, Sakura-chan."

A little tearful and a little more angry, Sakura determinedly declared, "I'll _never_ let that happen to them." The fierce glint in her watery green eyes was reminiscent to those of a woman that Izanami once knew.

Sakura was evidently surprised by Izanami's input on the situation, as she rarely ever saw the softened, motherly side of her aunt. "I'll try for them." Sakura said with an intense air of persistence and both Mariko and Izanami knew that she wouldn't back down.

Sakura knew if that she couldn't let them stay in her home anymore, than perhaps she could do this little tidbit for them.

Izanami smiled a little wistfully, remembering when she used to be that naive, then ruffled her niece's pink hair, much to her indignation. "I suppose you'll be the one to tell them?" Mariko-obaa-san asked, although she knew the answer. Sakura nodded a little shakily and slipped up to the guest bedroom where the boys had occupied. Knocking on the door (because she didn't need a repeat of what happened when she had just burst in), she opened it hesitantly when she heard the holler of, "Come in!"

They were all scattered around the slightly cramped guest room, with Sasuke thumbing through a book of some kind, Naruto throwing a pen up at middle of the ceiling fan for some reason and Sai sketching a flower vase with a piece of charcoal and parchment she had helpfully supplied. The trio mostly called for her attention for entertainment, as there wasn't much to do but venture out to the park to look for Kurama every once and a while. She knew that there wasn't much to do when you were stuck in the house for days on end, but she and Mariko-obaa-san suggested they keep under the radar before someone recognized them.

She took a seat beside Naruto onto the bed, drawing her knees up to her chin as she leant back onto the headboard. Her green eyes grew a little more teary as she imagined life the next week; the empty routine she would have to repeat, and the hollowness of being alone at her own home. She had skipped out on the rest of her dance lessons, afraid that they might run away and didn't communicate with her friends as much she used to - she was afraid that they would ask questions, afraid that they might come looking for her. She realized just how _afraid_ she was; all because the boys would be revealed.

Noticing that Sakura had grown unexpectedly quiet, Naruto nudged her side a bit, "You alright, Sakura-chan? You look like you're about to- wait, are you crying, Sakura-chan?!" Three pairs of eyes shot at her in concern - had they done something wrong? Sakura laughed a little, a mixture of wet tears and melodic, light-hearted laughter, and wiped her tears away hastily, "Nah - just a little sad is all." Her voice drifted off at the end as she sniffled a little.

"Why?" Naruto asked gently; Sakura was usually so fierce and strong - to see her tear up like this was both unusual and worrying. "It's-it's… it's just that you might have to go," her voice cracked a little at the end. She didn't realize how much she didn't want them to go, to leave her alone with only herself to keep her company, "You guys might have to leave, and-and be _separated_ and you guys don't want that, right? So, I'll _try_ , okay? I'll make sure to keep you guys together, and-and,"

Tears were spilling down her cheeks by now and her voice was stuttery with tears and worry. The boys had huddled closer to comfort the crying girl. Sakura heaved in deep breaths as she tried to wipe away her tears - she had to be _strong dammit._ The three enveloped the sobbing girl into a soppy mess of a hug. Even Naruto started sniffling into Sasuke's sleeve before he mumbled, "Stop that, Dobe." but they didn't let go until Sakura's cries dwindled into soft, uneven breathing.

"I'll try, okay?" she whispered into the shoulder of one of the boys - it was hard when her eyes were still slightly blurry with tears and they were bundled into one big lump. There was nods of appreciation in response to her declaration. After a few moments, they tried untangling themselves, which proved to be a hard feat when Naruto kept kicking Sai in the head whenever someone (mostly Sasuke and Sakura) tickled his side.

Afterwards, when they were all leaning onto the backboard of the bed, Sai murmured a grateful, "Thank you." on behalf of each of the boys. Sakura could _feel_ his smile as he tacked on a cheerful "Ugly." on the end. Sakura's eyes have gone a little watery but she grins wide and leans over Sasuke to swat his arm like she always does, then Naruto guffaws loudly and she shares a little smirk with Sasuke.

When they all join in with Naruto's boisterous laughter, Sakura wishes that perhaps they could always stay like this.

* * *

The next day at breakfast, Sakura realizes that they've formed a routine; Naruto would wake her and Sai up when he began his daily cooking 'theme song', they would then stumble down the stairs to find Sasuke trying to block out Naruto's horrendous singing and then they would all enjoy a delicious, new breakfast every morning. Naruto had a knack for slipping hot chili peppers into Sasuke's orange juice whenever he was bin particularly irritable and he also loved cooking new meal each morning. After realizing that little tidbit, she also learnt that she had memorized all their quirks and personality treats. For example, you should never wake up before Sasuke if you wanted to continue living (he had delightfully _terrifying_ bed head), that Naruto would always criticize the way you cooked even if you were just making tea and that Sai's insult vocabulary was ridiculously large when you woke him up from a nap.

Though the trio had opened up to her considerably, they still refused to tell her why they were wandering around at dusk by themselves. After much insistent prodding, Naruto had finally snapped at her, his vibrant, blue eyes that portrayed so much emotion flashing dangerously at her. She backed off in fear of angering them again, but there was always an irresistible nag at the back of her mind to find out what was going on with them.

When they were in the middle of their breakfast, Sakura suddenly exclaimed, "An amusement park!" Sai raised an amused eyebrow in response. They all looked questioningly at her, obviously interested and amused at her revelation. She smiled brightly, green eyes sparkling, and slammed her palms onto the table in excitement, "Let's go to an amusement park!" A brightly coloured flyer had caught near the entrance, along with the rest of the mail.

The social services agent would come to collect the boys in two days time, so Sakura had been searching for ways to brighten to the days before they left. "An… amusement park?" Naruto asked, tilting his blonde head adorably in curiosity. Sakura gasped in horror, "You've never been?!" With a shake of their heads, Sakura declared determinedly, "We are going to one today."

After cleaning and preparing breakfast for Izanami, they calculated the total amount of money they needed for the entrance fee and the whole lot of food Sakura intended on getting. Instead of Mariko-obaa-san, Sakura instead went up to wake her aunt up with her breakfast, but to also pester Izanami for some money. Though she could easily just slip some money out of Izanami's purse, she found that her aunt was becoming more… frugal with her savings. After waking Izanami up, Sakura received a half-asleep, mumbled consent of permission and she bound out the room with the money.

Hollering down the stairs for the boys to get ready, she entered her room only to find her phone flashing with notifications. Upon seeing who the sender was, Sakura immediately felt the untouched pit of guilt gnaw in her stomach. Ino had left her numerous texts, DMs and voice mails asking where she was in the past two weeks and why she had been skipping dance lessons. Sakura felt extremely guilty and slightly terrified that Ino had been so concerned about her - what kind of best friend was she?

Although she _should've_ told Ino that she would be occupied, but she was kind of engrossed in spending time with her boys… _wait a second._

Did she just refer to them as… _hers?_ Sakura had definitely formed a bond with them, but she hadn't yet gone as far as to claim them as her property. Feeling a little light headed at her revelation, she called Ino after hesitating several times.

When Ino pinally picked up her phone, Sakura couldn't honestly say that she was ready for Ino's rather loud verbal assault. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, FOREHEAD? I've been calling and texting you almost every hour for the last two weeks! Did you even _use_ your phone AT ALL during that time period?!" Sakura hadn't bothered with her phone after it had ran of out of battery that evening two weeks ago. In fact, she had only gone to charge it that morning for their trip to the amusement park. "...regionals are right around the corner! Have you even been _practicing?!_ " Sakura wince in guilt - she _had_ practiced her solo in the mirror when she had the time, but her group dance… not so much. The Sakura three weeks ago would have been religiously rehearsing and repeating her routine until she could perform it without fail, but recently, she more often than not neglected to practice.

Sakura had never realized how much she had devoted her life to dance when she thought about how much hours after school and during the holidays she spent in her dance studio. She guessed that perhaps a few weeks relaxing did her good, because also she seemed to do was _dance_. Sakura definitely loved her sport and didn't regret devoting the last year to it, but she also realized that she needed to take break from it before she didn't have anything _but_ dance.

She weakly answered Ino's questions, but made sure to keep her answers vague, as to not reveal the trio's presence. Ino was very much her best and closest friend, but that girl had a mouth on her, and she had a very hard time keeping secrets to herself.

After Ino's seventeenth time reminding Sakura to go back to dance lessons before the end of the holidays, she heard the trio oncoming as Naruto roared with laughter at something Sasuke said to Sai. Slapping her palm to her forehead in exasperation, she quickly interrupted Ino's gossip-filled rambles, "Sorry, Ino, go to go - love you!" She quickly ended the phone call before Ino could protest.

Her door was burst open just as she sighed in relief and her- _the_ boys strolled in, dressed and ready to go. She scowled at them for being so bloody loud and said, "Have you no common courtesy? Don't just burst into a _lady's_ room without knocking, gentlemen." She tacked a mock-haughty sniff to the end. She pushed them out with a laugh and ignored Naruto's indignant protests and Sai's pleasant reply of, "I see no lady present, Ugly."

After a quick scan of her wardrobe, Sakura realized just how much casual clothing she had, other than sweatpants and sweatshirts; her closet mostly consisted of her dance uniforms, performing leotards and other clothing associated with dancing. There probably was only a pair of jeans or two and a few shirts Kaori-sempai had passed on to her that she could wear. She laid out her outfit and went to take a quick shower. She made sure to double check that the door was properly locked before she could actually shower. When she had stripped down to her underwear, Sakura noticed how… androgynous she looked. She didn't have Ino's curves or Ami's slim waist; she was just flat. Being self-conscious was a major reason why she chose to become a dancer - when she was on stage, it didn't really matter about physical attributes when you look just as feminine and graceful with your movements. When she heard that she would be playing the star in the Christmas showcase last year, she had proven that she didn't need to looks to trump the more prettier dances when you had skill.

After a rushed but relaxing shower, she tiptoed to her bedroom to get dressed. After a rather embarrassing encounter with Sai in only her towel the week previous, she had made sure to avoid the trio as best she could. After making it successfully to her bedroom, she got dressed into the warmest clothes she could find and pulled on her lime green sneakers. Her trusty shoes had been gifted by Mariko-obaa-san on her eleventh birthday and was eternally grateful for the sturdy pair of shoes.

Pulling her short hair into a bun at the top of her head, she grabbed her coat and made it out down the stairs in record time. All of the boys were waiting impatiently for her at the front door, accompanied with Mariko-obaa-san, who would be 'supervising' them on their trip. When they got into the woman's quaint little car, Sakura ushered Sai into the passenger seat so she could sit between Naruto and Sasuke to stop (read: attempt to stop) their bickering. When they arrived, both Naruto and Sasuke had earned themselves bruises on their jaws, courtesy of Sakura, and Sai had been supplying the older woman with compliments and praise whilst Sakura was occupied.

Although visiting the amusement park wasn't as cool-looking in the cold winter than it was in summer, the flashing luminescent lights and inviting aroma of fresh churros was just as appealing. The boys were suitably impressed by the vibrant scenery as Mariko paid for their entrance fees and tickets to go on the rides and such. The older woman had shooed them away, allowing them to venture the teeming park by themselves.

Sakura handed the boys a map of the amusement park and glowed as their eyes widened in awe. "So," she said smugly, proud that they were so impressed, "Where do you guys wanna go first?"

 **CHA!** Inner exclaimed whilst pumping a nonexistent fist into the air. **We** _ **knew**_ **that they were gonna like it!**

Inner had been more quiet the past few weeks - she had a sneaking suspicion that it had to do with the fact that Sakura herself was showing off the part Inner represented more; the more loud, exuberant, hot-tempered side she usually kept suppressed under her tough, cool exterior. With each passing day, she noticed that her boys brought out more of her personality.

Soon enough, Naruto began shooting off a list of the most dangerous-looking roller coasters, rapidly scanning the map for the scariest attractions. Sai looked alarmingly pleasant as he nodded along happily to Naruto's list of rides. Sasuke seemed indifferent, though he was appreciatively eying the tall structure of the 'Tower of Terror' in the distance.

The amusement park had only opened up two hours prior, and it was around midday by now, so it was at it's most packed state right about now. Sakura frowned in thought as she surveyed the long lines of the more popular attractions. "Let's try the High Striker," she suggested, pointing at the tall pillar near the food stalls that had little to no people lining up for it. Knowing that the trio of boys loved competition, she slyly said, "Maybe we can figure out who's the strongest." The familiar determined glint appeared in their eyes as they simultaneously bounded off in the direction she pointed to. Sighing in fond exasperation, she mumbled to herself about overexcited pubescent boys and unnecessarily loud children.

When she arrived behind the boys, they were already bickering over who would go first. Sakura sighed once again and commanded over their ruckus, "Naruto, you go first." Handing the appropriate amount of tickets to the operator, she quirked an eyebrow in amusement when Naruto struggled to even pick up the mallet. Sai sighed next to her, "Dickless, if you can't even pick up the mallet, you should just give up now." Sasuke smirked as Naruto waved the hammer about it in Sai's direction indignantly, "I doubt you can ever carry this friggin' thing with your stick arms!"

Sai only shrugged in response as Sasuke and Sakura raised questioning eyebrows at him. Naruto, trying to put up a bravado, had rolled up his sleeves in preparation. "We can't wait until Easter, Dobe," Sasuke drawled as Naruto made a show of raising the mallet high above his head. When the mallet made contact with the lever, the puck was only raised to a pathetic height of mid-level. Sai's pleasant tone pierced the silence after Naruto's pitiful attempt, "You should've stopped while you could, Dickless." Sasuke's smirk had grown even wider while Naruto slunked with his head hung in shame next to Sakura. "That was alright," Sakura consoled Naruto, patting the top of his spiky, blonde hair. Naruto immediately brightened with a grin, "Really?" Sakura sweat-dropped at Naruto's rather bright response and answered with a pat on his shoulder, "Sure."

Sasuke scowled a little as he stepped up in order to prove his higher worth than Naruto. He picked up the mallet with a slight grunt, to which Naruto hooted with laughter, "Told ya it was heavy!" Sasuke simply ignore Naruto's taunts and positioned the mallet diagonal to the level. When it came down onto the lever, the puck had risen marginally higher than Naruto's did. The blonde sputtered as Sasuke shot him a smirk that seemed to say told-you-I-was-stronger-Dobe without even trying.

"I guess it's my turn," Sai said mildly, picking up the mallet with much more ease than both Naruto and Sasuke did. Naruto's jaw hit the ground and even Sasuke grunted uncomfortably.

 **Ah** , Inner said almost fondly, **Manly pride**.

Sai's strike had risen much higher than even Sasuke's and he made it look like he didn't try. "Bu-what-" Naruto gaped in incredulous shock. "Good job, Sai." Sakura praised with a smile but Sai looked away to hid his tinted cheeks.

When Sakura made a move to head to a different stall, Naruto exclaimed, "Aren't you gonna give it a go, Sakura-chan?" Sakura shrugged in reply, not really in the mood to participate in such strenuous activities, but Sai's call of, "Too cowardly to even try, Ugly? Perhaps females _are_ incredibly weak." stopped her cold. Marching back to the stall, Sakura had impulsively taken Sai's bait. The trio of boys looked on, interested to see where her puck would reach. She stuffed a few tickets into the surprised operator's hand and positioned herself in front of the High Striker.

Sakura bent low and grabbed the mantle with only her right hand and picked it up easily. She threw a smug smile over her shoulder as she spun the heavy mallet in her hand skilfully. She could _feel_ their jaws reach the ground - even the operator was shocked.

 **We're** _ **totally**_ **bad-ass** , Inner gushed as Sakura positioned to strike the lever.

Her acro teacher had instructed her to pack on some muscles in her arms when she struggled to even perform a handspring because she lacked the sheer arm strength. In the time she spent as a dancer and a gymnast-in-training, she had packed on quite some strength in her arms. Though she was very strong in terms of weight lifting, most of the mallet-lifting was done through and it was a mixture of both her strength and her need to shove Sai's face in the proverbial dirt for taunting her like that. She swung the mallet down, and with a ping, the puck hit the bell at the top at a rapid speed.

Dropping the mallet with a loud thud, she wiped off the nonexistent dust from her hands and smiled sweetly over her shoulder to see all of the boy's mouths gaping wide open, "What stall next, boys?" After getting over their overall shock, they all agreed to get lunch. Like the hungry pubescent boys they were, they piled up on an assortment of churros and half-priced hot dogs, but Sakura, not wanting to feel left out, joined in on their feast. After gorging on greasy foods, they all agreed to follow Naruto's race around the amusement park - they first began with the biggest of them all, dubbed the 'Goliath' for its massive size.

 **That's one big mothertrucker** , Inner whistled inside the privacy of her mind. Sakura agreed numbly as she stood, mouth agape as they stood under the towering shadow of the gigantic roller coaster.

"Ya wanna try it?" Naruto questioned, his nervousness hidden under a curtain of bravado. Not wanting to be trumped by the blonde, Sasuke announced, "I'm game." Sai tilted his head forward in consent, "I'm dubious about Dickless' ability to pass the height restriction, but I suppose I'll join as well." Sakura shot Naruto a scathing look before he could make a scene in front of the crowd of strangers.

"Might as well," Sakura sighed as Naruto excitedly dragged them to the back of the line. After an excruciatingly long period of waiting in a bloody line, all of them had grown past simply 'impatient'. Before Naruto could burst into another fit of frustration, Sakura hushed him as they finally reached the front of the line. "Finally!" Naruto heaved dramatically, immediately rushing to the front of the carriages.

"Wait." the operator called. Sakura curiously glanced back to find the teen beckoning her closer. "Is something wrong?" she asked slowly, raising her eyebrows at him. The operator cleared his voice and said, "You need to meet the height restrictions." Sakura felt her eye twitch as Sai snickered somewhere behind her. A dark aura began to grow around her, her killing intent filling the area from the rather rude operator to the impatient people in the roller coaster cart. "H-here," he stuttered, holding a measured metal stick out for her. Lining it up with her admittedly short stature, Sakura triumphantly found that she just _barely_ made it over the height limit. The operator, still slightly traumatized from Sakura's slowly dissipating anger, shakily held out his arm for them to enter.

"About time!" Naruto grabbed her by the wrist and gently tugged her in the direction of the front of the carriage. "Naruto!" Sakura admonished as she slipped into the front compartment next to Naruto. Both Sasuke and Sai were seated in the carriage behind them, probably thanking their lucky stars that they didn't have the fortune of hearing Naruto shriek like a newborn right in their ears.

 **Naruto really** _ **did**_ **have to choose the front seat of one of the most ginormous rollercoasters, didn't he?** Inner commented dryly once the roller coaster began to move forward.

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut as they approached the first dip, readying herself both mentally and physically. As the carriage flew down at like an oncoming wave of water, Sakura opened her clenched eyes hesitantly and looked to the side to find that Naruto was not in fact screeching his lungs out, but grinning like the sun didn't shine.

"THAT WAS SO COOL." Sakura managed to breath out as the track flattened into sharp twists and turns. She dimpled a grin at Naruto, who was struggling to heave in breaths from overwhelming excitement, and snuck her hand into his. Shyly meeting his startlingly vibrant eyes as they approached another large dip, he squeezed her small hand in his, beaming at her sparkling green eyes.

Once the ride finished, Sakura was still on an adrenaline high. At first, they were all highly amused by her rather enthusiastic change of personality, the trio struggled to appease the vibrant girl as she dragged them from roller coaster to roller coaster until they couldn't take it anymore.

"Another one, guys?" Sakura grinned, cheeks flushed and she had yet to notice the slightly queasy looks on the boy's faces.

 **Hell yeah!** Inner hollered, pumping fists into the air left and right - she _had_ been the one to (secretly) inspire the excitement into the usually calm and collected Sakura.

"Neh, Sakura-chan," Naruto began, his face paler than it had been about seven roller coaster rides ago, "Why don't we take a little break?" Sakura rolled her eyes at him for what felt like the billionth time - hadn't he been the one to gallivant around the most scariest rides? "Whyyyy?" Sakura pouted, the rush of fear and excitement still on her mind. It seemed that the burst of adrenaline Sakura had experience had yet to disappear. The three had never seen Sakura so excited, so exhilarated - it was both a pleasant and terrifying change of heart.

"What he means to say, Ugly, is that you're obviously not in control and that we _all_ deserve a rest. Especially you." Sai smiled cheerfully and ushered Sakura in the direction of the seating area. Before Sakura could protest, she stopped cold and slumped into a blurry daze. "It seems she's finally caught up with herself," Sasuke drawled dryly, scooping up the short girl's shoulders and gently steered a stumbling Sakura to a nearby bench. Both Naruto and Sai sighed in relief, slumping into the wooden seats of the bench and mentally noted to never encourage an adrenaline-high Sakura ever again.

When it was obvious that Sakura wouldn't be getting up and bounding around like a chipmunk anymore, Sai called Mariko to meet them near the entrance with Sakura's phone. The pink haired girl blinked blearily, mumbling incoherently words into Naruto's shoulder. The three guided Sakura through the throng of excited children and made sure to keep her from stumbling into anything and anyone. When they met Mariko at the entrance gate, they found the older woman's arms overfilled with a mountain of sweets, potato chips, churros and almost every food from nearly every food stall in the park. Mariko's salt and pepper head poked out from behind a packet of chips to smile at the four. "Izanami-kun's orders." she said very seriously to the four, then beckoned the boys to help her with the mountain of snacks.

All of them packed into Mariko's car and once Naruto had zipped Sakura in, she had already passed out in a dead faint. When they returned to the house, Izanami had been eagerly awaiting their arrival. Upon the sight of the large assortment of snacks, she licked her lips with the hunger of a wild animal and took all of it in one big swoop of her slender arms. "Junk food is her only guilty pleasure besides alcohol." Mariko confided in the trio secretly with a wink as Izanami skipped away.

The boys attempted to carry Sakura's light form up the stairs, but stopped trying when Naruto kept hitting her head on the rail trying to smack Sai. Instead they laid her out in the plush couch in the living room and left her to get tucked in by Mariko.

"Ugly's features look rather blissful when not contorted in anger," Sai commented absentmindedly. Naruto scowled at him and said, "She only looks like that around you," Sasuke agreed with a snort as he laid a blanket over her prone body.

Sakura's eyes fluttered open at the sudden weight of the thick comforter. In a heavy, half-asleep tone, she asked them, "Did you guys have fun today?" Instead of fussing over her, Naruto's eyes met with both Sai and Sasuke. "Yes," Sai answered instead, a real but still small smile on his pale features, "We did." Sakura smiled knowingly and drifted back to sleep.

* * *

In the morning, their routine hadn't changed. Even with only the period of one whole day left, Naruto still cooked them some spicy Indian breakfast, Sai still commented absentmindedly on Sakura's fluffy bedhead and Sasuke still woke up earlier than anyone else.

"I feel like having a lazy day," Sakura yawned as she reclined into a pleasurably comfy chair in the lounge room, "Don't you?" Maybe it was because of the rather hectic day they had the day previous or perhaps it was because they wanted as much time to themselves as possible, the trio all agreed on her decision.

Eyes sparkling and still sitting in her rumpled clothes from the day before, Sakura declared, "Let's a lazy onesie day!" Not one of the boys had ever heard of a 'onesie' before, much to the pink haired girl's horror and simultaneous delight of introducing them to something so extravagant.

Dragging all of them up to her wardrobe, she pulled out her rather extensive collection of soft animal designed pajama-wear, she introduced the wonder of 'onesies' to the three. "I don't see anything you find so special about it," Sai said skeptically as he rubbed the soft material of Stitch's ear. Naruto and Sasuke were too busy bickering about who looked the most like the Totoro one. "Honestly, you three," she huffed, patting the pant leg on her favourite one. Whether they liked it or not, they _would_ be getting into these suits. Somewhere in the depths of Sakura's mind, Inner laughed maniacally.

Shoving a specified onesie into each of the boys hands, she marched them out to go and get dressed into their new attire. After locking her door, she changed into more comfortable pajamas and threw on her favourite one out of the lot; her much-worn, Rilakkuma onesie. Opening her door, she nearly squealed at the adorableness of finding the three of them in a two sizes too small onesie. She had specifically chosen one for each of them; Pikachu for Naruto, the Panda for Sai and the Stitch one for Sasuke.

"Come in, come in!" she beamed at them, and pointedly ignored their disgruntled mutters and embarrassed blushes. Once they had all settled on Sakura's bed, she was already combing through the Netflix lists - one day when Sakura was sick, Izanami had worryingly installed a TV in fear that Sakura would become 'bored'. To say that her aunt had gone overboard was like comparing Naruto's brightness to a flickering candle. But in the end, she knew that her aunt was right when she had outright declared that, "Every growing young girl _must_ at least have had Netflix once in their life." Her beloved TV had proven to be immensely useful when she binge watched Disney movies - like right now.

"What are we watching?" Naruto ventured curiously, glancing at Sakura's concentrated look on the TV. "Disney marathon." she said very seriously. Honestly - it was like these boys had had their childhood stolen away!

The boys chose just to go with flow, because ignorance was better than having Sakura hammering down on you for interrupting her 'concentration'. When Mariko arrived with a large bowl of buttered popcorn and an almost apologetic smile, they knew that they were in for a session of staring at a screen for hours.

Sakura began with 'Finding Nemo', then continued on with 'Bambi' and then she flicked to 'The Lion King' next - and as expected, one of them cracked when Simba's heartbreaking sob pierced the silence of the room. This peaceful ambiance went on for hours until the large bowl of popcorn ran out and Mariko-obaa-san went to refill it.

The lights had been shut off, so when the door cracked open to reveal a sliver of light, it was slightly painful to the eye. When Moriko arrived again, Sakura glanced at the boys to find _Naruto_ with tear-stained cheeks and a sniffly nose. Without a word and a blistering glare at Sai before he could make a smart ass comment about Naruto unmanliness, she passed Naruto a tissue - the last movie they had watched _had_ been the Fox and the Hound after all, so she could relate.

When Sakura was satisfied with their Disney marathon and half of them had already drifted off to sleep watching Up, Sakura flicked off the TV with a contented yawn and curled into Naruto's side to sleep.

* * *

When Sakura woke, she hoped it was a nightmare.

The boys had disappeared downstairs and she was curled up all alone on her bed. Slipping out of the suddenly cold covers, she crept down the stairs to hear hushed whispers and angry mutters.

 **The social services agent finally arrived** , Inner's voice was suddenly very small.

Sakura crept down the steps, the wooden floorboards sending an icy chill up her legs. A professional looking woman dressed in crisp, stark clothing with stern, pointed features stood with a scuffling Sasuke at the door. Her lips were pursed impatiently, as if she had something better to do than pick up three orphans and if Sakura wasn't stuck to the floorboards in fear, then she would've firmly told the woman to rethink her career decisions.

"They were just going to leave without saying goodbye." she whispered softly, suddenly blank eyes tracing over Sasuke's figure over and over until she could fully process the thought. She felt like running away. To escape the loss and emptiness that accompanied heartbreak - why had she let them get _so close?_ After her parents passed, Sakura had been afraid. Afraid of making new friends and opening up her emotions to anyone - all because of the fear of losing someone again.

 **If they're not coming back _,_** Inner said quietly, **Then might as well keep our promise to them, ne?** Inner's voice normally boisterous and determination-fueled voice sounded a little more blank than usual.

With a firm resolve, Sakura marched down the stairs to keep her promise. Both the woman and Sasuke raised questioning eyebrows at her - she probably _did_ look ridiculous, didn't she? Outfitted in a loose fitting onesie and hair mussed with sleep, she stood determinedly bare-foot in front of the agent.

Before Sasuke or whoever was watching tried to stop her, she whispered up at the woman with a dead look in her usually lively green eyes, "Keep them together. _Please._ " Nodding stiffly at the pink haired girl, the woman looked past Sakura's head to nod almost robotically at someone else, probably Naruto and Sai, and then slipped out the door.

Walking past Sai, whom tried to offered a small but heartrendingly genuine smile, she stopped behind Naruto and opened her suddenly dry lips to whisper a soft-spoken, "Thank you." They all bowed respectfully to a tearful Mariko and a glass-eyed Izanami, then walked out of the door to someplace else - somewhere that was probably _better_ for them.

When she heard the card door click close, she soon realized what she was doing, what _they_ were doing - they were just _leaving without properly saying goodbye._

She ran out, bare feet slapping against the pavement to wave at the passing car with tears rolling down her cheeks and a big grin lighting up her bright green eyes. "We'll meet again!" she shouted after them, "I promise!"

Wiping away her tears, she marched up back inside and into her room feeling a little more broken with each step. Fidgeting with her phone, she flicked into her contacts to call the one person who would understand her the most. _Ino._ She didn't properly start crying until she was heaving heartbroken sobs into the phone and then Ino was whispering to her, "I'm coming over."

Even if they didn't see or hear her, she would keep that promise until she could meet them again. She promised.

* * *

Author's Note: I understand that their goodbye was a little more tearful than normal goodbyes would be if you had only known someone for two weeks, but I tried to emphasize the fact that Sakura was a pubescent girl with slightly uncontrollable emotions, and is also extremely naive. On another note, tried to make the reason why Inner Sakura was little more vacant more clear. I by no means am an expert in how the government usually handles foster care and such, but I tried my best to make it as realistic as possible.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter ;3

Reviews are love~


	4. Sakura meets the City

_Dance with the Devil_

Summary: In which trouble-attracting dancer Sakura Haruno (unsurprisingly) stumbles upon three, wayward orphans and unexpectedly takes them under her wing. "So you _don't_ know who I am?" "Should we?" Cue the exasperated sigh that she should _really_ get used to. {dance!AU / Sakura-centric}

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters beside my own.

Warning: Crude language, possible suggestive innuendos

Inner Sakura - **SHANNARO!**

Sakura talking in her mind - 'SHANNARO!'

 _~ {_ **Sakura meets the City** _} ~_

Ino was the next to leave.

Maybe it was the encompassing ( _suffocating_ Ino would snap) warmth of the small town or the overwhelming familiarity ( _I'll be stuck here forever, Sakura_ Ino would say _)._ The blonde had abruptly turned up on Sakura's doorstep wearing an obscure, apologetic smile and her travel bag slung over one shoulder, already on her harried way to the airport.

Sakura's mouth was moving not on her own account, whispering empty reassurances and casting plastered smiles as Ino babbled apologies and details about things that Sakura really didn't care about.

" _My dad found a new job in the big city, Sakura!_ " Ino's words were finally processing, " _We'll have a better life there; new life, new clothes - imagine the_ opportunities _I could have at my disposal!_ "

Sakura suddenly realized that the faint clues and thinly veiled hints were oh-so blatantly clear; all those little prompts Ino had unknowingly slipped her were unraveling into a bigger picture and Sakura could see it all. It _was_ true that they acted like 'frenemies' - sometimes, they both didn't agree on things, but everyone knew that they closest best friends you can get in their small town.

" _Think of all the dance studios and all the_ amazing _people I could meet in the city - I could finally become a_ star!" Ino always had been more of a city chic than plain, old girl-next-door Sakura, " _Would you really deprive me of this chance, Sakura?"_ There was a faint plea in her voice and Sakura didn't know whether to feel guilty or furious.

" _You're the best, Sakura!_ " Ino had said with a dazzling smile out of all the things that she could've done, " _You will never believe how relieved I am - what kind of friend would I be if I left my own best friend here hanging?"_ The blonde playfully bumped shoulders with Sakura, as if nothing had happened.

 _Except you are_ , a more scathing, rebellious part of Sakura spat, _you're leaving without telling us anything_ at all _beforehand._

Then Sakura was wrapped up in a bundle of Ino's strangely smothering, flowery perfume and long, graceful arms as Sakura nodded dumbly at something she didn't hear. Before she could blink, Ino was already half-way down the pavement, hollering something over her shoulder with a big, pasted grin and a wave of her hand. Sakura mechanically waved her hand back, wishing her some words she didn't mean and a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

The last thing she remembered from the ( _one-sided_ ) conversation was, " _We'll keep in touch, okay?_ "

Then Sakura turned around in a daze and closed the door, sliding down onto the rug with her head in her hands and a deep sinking feeling in her gut. _What just happened, Inner?_ Sakura questioned as the empty feeling of realization set in her stomach.

 **Ino just left** , Inner answered, **And she's probably not gonna come back.**

* * *

In the end, Ino didn't end up keeping in touch.

The fleeting hope that maybe Ino wouldn't forget the tight-knit friendship that they shared for almost the entirety of their lives dissipated as time wore on and there were no new messages on her phone that alerted Sakura that maybe Ino _hadn't_ forgot.

New faces showed up on Ino's various social media, Sakura noticed. They were more manicured and haughty, makeup-wearing and stylish. Just like Ino.

Even as temptation clawed at her mind, Sakura refused to be jealous of her long-time friend - hard-working Ino deserved happiness, didn't she? May Ino's new 'besties' be perfect and groomed and overall aesthetically pleasing, Sakura wouldn't let envy get to her after all those years.

But that didn't stop her from hoping and wishing and pleading for Ino to come back every time she was reminded of her.

* * *

Months passed, filled with walking home in an empty silence, eating alone at lunch and with only the vague acquaintances of the girls at her dance studio to keep her company.

She hadn't bothered to reach out and make different, not-Ino friends - everyone in the community was tight-knit. Even when they entered high school, no one even bothered to make new acquaintances or meet new people. Everyone just clung to their cliques, rarely associating with others and always sticking together. Ino and her had been like that, too. It was always like that; just the two of them.

When the blonde had up and left, Sakura's originally miniscule social life came raining down in a flurry of loneliness and anger. Sakura made sure to keep a tight, sealed lid on her fury, even as she scuffled past the whispers and mutters about the loner of seventh grade.

When a smirking, bald-faced girl sashayed over to her one day, taunting her unusually impassive attitude and her apparent 'attention-seeking' coloured hair, Sakura realized just how much she depended on Ino. Just how much she expected the blonde to swoop in with witty jabs and retorts to save her from the big, bad bully once again.

Walking home that day, Sakura bitterly thought that perhaps that it wasn't the town that smothered Ino, but her own suffocating best friend.

In return for the newfound solitude, Sakura smoothly covered her loneliness with schoolwork. She excelled in her grades; her normally Ino-filled weekends opening up places for extreme study periods and completing assignments due weeks later. **Well** , Inner had drawled, **Perhaps if we can't have an exceptional social life, then we can have exceptional grades?**

Soon her classes grew easy - too easy - for her to be challenged. Questions on a test that could be effortlessly answered, assignments that were compared to child's play and grades that her small town school had not seen before.

Then, before she knew it, she was bored. Bored with the praises the teachers gave her, bored of getting the same mark as the test previous or even the acknowledging looks people passed her as she walked by. Recognition would be far too late now, she dryly thinks whenever she receives a respected nod her way. **Like, five months too late,** Inner always adds with a disgruntled grumble.

And one day, when she was stretching after a particularly vigorous afternoon of training, Sakura had a sudden revelation. Her sensei was commandeering an intricate piece given to one of the older, senior dancers, instructing particular movements and demonstrating complex twists and turns. She faintly remembered that Ino used to fill that spot - she had been chosen as the female solo for the district competition that the blonde had yearned for since she was a kid. Hadn't that met anything to her?

Watching the older girl struggle through the dance routine, Sakura abruptly realized that the reason why Ino had wanted that spot so much was because _Sakura_ had always been the one to get it. She had seemingly missed the bitter smiles and harsh looks from the blonde ( _Ino-pig, I got the spot_ again!) that she easily dismissed. Sakura was considered to be 'gifted' by many of the instructors - endless proposals of excelling towards a better dance school with higher standards and better opportunities were declined all because of one particular person - Ino.

The first time her sensei had offered her the advancement, she had spied Ino's frowning face in the corner of her and immediately declined. Leaving behind her best and only friend on her lonesome was something that Sakura could never understand. But yet, Ino had cheerfully up and left in a moment's notice with no regrets or doubts about her decision.

The second time, Ino had been there to guilt-trip her with her watery blue eyes and dramatic pout that made her instantly ashamed of even thinking of advancing. The next times, Sakura hadn't even _thought_ about doing such a thing; she hadn't because of Ino. All those times she had the chance to rise from the rest, the blonde would be there to plead and guilt Sakura - but when Ino had the chance to escape their supposedly 'suffocating' hometown, she had jumped at it. No remorse or guilt had ridden Ino when she cheerfully skipped away from the only real friendship that would 'keep' her in their town.

Collecting her thoughts and pushing her strained legs off the ground, Sakura marched over to her sensei with hardened resolve in her green eyes. "Ah," tall, willowy Mai-sensei smiled, "Do you need anything, Haruno-kun? Early leave?" The pink haired girl's lips tightened in quick contemplation before she cleared her throat and said, "I accept the offer of Shinobu Academy, sensei."

Shinobu Academy was widely renowned throughout the nations of Japan, celebrated for its production of acclaimed alumni - skilled and experienced dancers. Shinobu Academy for Gifted Dancers was famed for its prestigious dance-incorporated curriculum that provided outstanding student after student. Places for the famous academy were extremely limited, but a position for one miss Sakura Haruno had somehow always been reserved year after year.

Until now, Sakura had forgotten all about the offer, but now...

Mai blinked in surprise, briefly losing her grip on her clipboard. "Ano, of course, Haruno-kun!" the taller woman smiled gently, "Are you definite you want to attend the Academy? Enrollment is guaranteed, but whether you continue your studies there is up to your grades, Haruno-kun…"

"Yes," Sakura confirmed firmly, "I'm positive." Mai said with a gleaming grin, "Well, you'll have to gain permission from your carer and fill in the application by the…" Sakura tuned out the rest of the details, knowing that the ever-organized Mai would sort out all the necessary information into paperwork form for Izanami to eventually read over. Mai was the assistant dance teacher that was actually the niece of the director; so she didn't necessarily have any dance experience, but she had epic organizing skills.

But, however, she listened to the tidbit Mai had tacked onto the end of her speech, "...and you'll be joining the academy by next semester!"

"Eh?" Sakura jolted out of her reverie, eyes widening and mouth hanging open, "So soon?" The first semester had just finished and the next term was coming soon, so Sakura's surprise was well-reasoned.

Mai was too busy writing notes and comments on a spare piece of paper on her clipboard to notice Sakura's evident shock. "Here," the older woman said jovially, ripping out the page filled with details, along with a pamphlet. It seemed Mai was very prepared for this moment, because she handed Sakura a packet stuffed with various sheets and such right after shoving the petite girl an armful of envelopes.

Now struggling with a heap of sheets, Sakura croaked from under the mass, "Ah, thank you, Mai-sempai." Tipping forward slightly in a makeshift bow, she turned to stuff the slightly more organized mess into her bag. After some goodbyes, Sakura hefted her now slightly (actually more than slightly) bag over her shoulder and marched out.

Surprisingly, Izanami arrived on her lonesome, the usually occupied passenger seat empty. Suspiciously, Sakura scrutinized her aunt quickly, before her eyes deduced that her accomplished smirk and a weird glow about her had something to do with the fact that her new beau wasn't in the car. The expression on her face was alike to the cat that caught to the canary - it didn't exactly help Sakura's mental state.

"'Afternoon, Izanami-baa-san," Sakura greeted with a tip of her head. She had taken to addressing Izanami more formally after Ino had left - she had a 'wake up call' about how the most precious things in your life could be easily taken away from you, and as such, you should cherish the limited moments you had. After her family's passing, Sakura had distanced herself Although Izanami wasn't exactly the _best_ parental figure in the world, she made for a great aunt. (Sometimes though, Sakura wished that she had a mother instead of a cool aunt.)

"How was dance practice, Sa-chan?" Izanami asked distractedly, eyeing her features in her makeup mirror. "I want to transfer to Shinobu Academy." Sakura said bluntly. Izanami's compact mirror promptly snapped shut in surprise. Izanami's perfectly plucked eyebrows rose high over her large sunglasses, "Oh?" Sakura nodded firmly and shoved the appropriate documents into Izanami's arms. Izanami peered over her sunglasses, scanning the printed text with an efficiency that surprised Sakura.

"Ino-chi had a much larger effect on you than you thought, Sa-chan." mused Izanami, flicking her way through the documents.

Sakura's mouth opened to contradict the (partially) true statement, but felt her mouth unable to emit coherent words. W ith a pleasant eye-smile, Izanami zipped up her makeup bag and sped off, leaving Sakura to mull over her statement.

Once they pulled up infront of their house, Sakura asked, "Are you allowing me to go?" Izanami pretended to think for a moment, placing a perfectly manicured finger on her perfectly painted lips and slipped on a 'thinking' expression. Before Sakura could re-ask her question, Izanami was already out of the car with a wink and a vague answer of, "You're to leave by next week, so pack your bags, Sa-chan."

Sakura followed after her, contemplating whether Izanami knew of her initial decision. Her aunt _was_ getting better at the whole 'parenting thing', and perhaps being a parental figure granted you mind reading abilities - Mariko-obaa-san seemed to have gotten it.

When Sakura slumped onto her bed, finally realizing she was _leaving_ her hometown - perhaps permanently - and moving to the _city,_ she felt a smile blossom on her face.

* * *

"Have you forgotten anything, Sakura-chan?" Mariko-obaa-san fussed, "Packed all your equipment? Clothes? Toiletries?"

The matronly woman had been double and triple checking all of Sakura's things over the past week, packing every single thing Sakura could and ever would need. Considering all her children were adults and she hadn't seen them off in a long time, Mariko-obaa-san had seen it her 'duty' to make sure Sakura was ready for these kinds of things.

Sakura couldn't help but feel honoured that her parental figure treated her like one of her own. Mariko-obaa-san _had_ been the one to raise her (well, most of the time).

"I've gotten everything I need, Mariko-obaa-san," Sakura promised with a laugh. Mariko-obaa-san suddenly teared up, "I-I… It's been awhile since I've seen one of my children off, Sa-chan." The elderly woman hadn't called her that in a long time - when she hit her teens, Mariko had assumed that Sakura had gotten uncomfortable around things like that.

Sakura crushed the woman in a tight hug, teary laughter bubbling on her lips. Resting her head on her parental figure's collarbone for one warm hug one last time, Sakura relished in Mariko-obaa-san's welcoming warmth and flowery scent. Pulling away, Sakura felt tears rolling down her cheeks but her bright smile remained on her lips, "I'll miss you Mariko-obaa-san." With one last watery smile, Mariko-obaa-san offered a smile at Sakura. "This will always be your home, Sa-chan."

A shaky smile appeared on her lips, "I know."

Izanami was waiting in the car, packed with Sakura's luggage. When Sakura got into the car, she was still waving at Mariko-obaa-san and Kaori-sempai and the rest of the staff with a teary but gleaming grin on her face.

The drive to the airport was silent and Sakura didn't even dare to turn on the radio. She kept glancing at the picture on her phone, where a two woman were smiling at the camera. In the City, she would be staying with a distant relative on her mother's side; a blonde, busty woman name Tsunade and her assistant, Shizune.

Izanami (or even Mariko) wasn't going to go to live with Sakura in the City, because although she still had her sister and parent's inheritance, it was incredibly hard to find a job in that area. (And the inheritance wasn't going to last forever.)

Although Izanami had argued that Sakura was perfectly capable of taking care of herself and have her own apartment, Mariko-obaa-san was an unstoppable force when it came to parental duties.

" _What if she's followed home?"_ Mariko had argued with a steely undertone in her usually warm, motherly voice, " _Who will keep her safe? Cook meals and clean the house? She's only_ fifteen, _for God's sake, Izanami. With no carer, there are unlimited possibilities that could happen to a vulnerable teenage girl. If you're her parental figure, Izanami, you have to act like one._ "

Izanami had finally shut up about the issue, so she had called up her second or third cousin that lived temporarily in the City so they could look after Sakura until she was deemed old enough to look after herself. Sakura herself had no choice in the argument, but she figured that it was better than living with someone you knew than getting plopped alone in an unknown city.

When they finally arrived, Izanami dropped Sakura off at the terminal wordlessly. But before the flight attendant was about to call the passengers in, Izanami turned to Sakura.

"I know I haven't been such a good parental figure, or even aunt, to you for the past few years, Sakura." Izanami quietly admitted, a sad, dimmed look in her eyes, "I would never be able to match up to your mother - when she died, I didn't know what to do." Sakura didn't know why Izanami was suddenly confessing the things she had been waiting to hear for years before she would make the greatest decision of her, but she could appreciate the gesture.

"She was the best older sister you could wish for - I couldn't let her go, so when it came to who would take custody of tiny, green-eyed little Mebuki, I fought." She let out a brittle laugh and focused her eyes on something in the distance.

"I fought _so hard,_ Sa-chan. I spent all my money on booze and clothes and parties, back then. I had no money to speak of, no house to support you, but I _fought,_ Sakura." Her light, lime-coloured eyes pierced right into Sakura's wide green ones.

"I tried to make things better for you - I spent all my inheritance on a cosy family home that ended up being empty and when I had a falling out with my old… lover, that was the last string I'd cut. All my old friends had families and jobs and a stable living, but what did I have? A small, clingy kid with eyes so similar to my dead sister's."

Sakura felt a cold feeling settle in her chest and casted her eyes downwards.

"We fell into routine then, y'know?" Izanami's eyes were blank and dead now, so unlike the green eyes that blazed with fire and determination Sakura had taken to seeing, "I'd go out partying and be drunk half the time and you would clean after me; the good, smart, sensible Sakura that I had taken barely no part into raising."

The guilt was crystal clear in Izanami's expression, "Then those boys came into our life."

The sensitive topic was taboo to Sakura. Every moment and memory was banished from their house of the boys, like they hadn't ever been there. Everyone else had gotten the hint and never talked about them again, afraid of breaking what little hope Sakura had salvaged.

Izanami could sympathize. "Changed our lives upside down, y'know?" she laughed, "You were always so sad before, Sa-chan. Then they brought happiness and hope and _life_ into our lives and you were even sadder when they left."

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut to stop the waterfall of tears she felt coming up. She had tried _so hard_ to forget the broken bond she made with them. She had tried everything to contact them again - it was if the social services had never seen them again. Sakura had never felt so crushed since the news of her family's death.

Sakura's eyes always looked so sad and dimmed before, as if she knew the hardships of life more than many people twice her age. When the three orphans and literally stumbled upon Sakura, Izanami had seen her weary eyes light up as if she was a _normal_ twelve year old.

And then they disappeared from her life, and Izanami had never seen eyes so despondent.

"If sending off what's left of my close family to an completely unknown city to make her happy, then I'll do it over and over again."

That's all Sakura needed to hear. _She cares,_ Sakura thought with a grin stretching from ear to ear even with tears spilling down her cheeks, _She cares._

Sakura wrapped her arms around Izanami's waist, causing her aunt to stumbled back in shock. Then she registered that her niece that was usually so uncomfortable with physical contact was _hugging_ her, she buried her face into her pink locks and tried to not get her tears on her clothes.

"Love you, Izanami-baa-chan," Sakura mumbled, her voice muffled by tears and the tight grip she kept on her aunt. Izanami simply smiled a kissed the crown of her head and whispered, "Love you too, kiddo." They separated with a teary goodbye and shared watery laughter.

Before she stepped into the passageway, Sakura waved over her shoulder and said, "I'll miss you!" Izanami waved her handkerchief at Sakura and grinned, "I'll miss you too!"

Then Sakura entered the arch and never looked back.

* * *

Sorry for the delay, but I hope you guys liked this chapter! Its a bit shorter, but a long one is coming up!

Reviews are love~


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